


Roadtrip

by shawneebonnie



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, DNF, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, My First Fanfic, On the Run, Roadtrip, Running Away, Slow Burn, dreamnotfound, if I figure out how to add more tags later I will, now this interstate is paved with memories
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:54:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29948208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shawneebonnie/pseuds/shawneebonnie
Summary: Clay is done. He's done with everything. He figured George moving to Florida to be in the same timezone would cause some chatter amongst the fans, but Twitter was practically a warzone now. He hadn't expected that. He hadn't expected to be unable to go out with his best friend without someone recognizing them or trying to take a sneaky picture while he wasn't looking. He hadn't expected every outing to be stressful. He hadn't expected the donations on his friends' streams to get more and more invasive. When the stress of his job matched the stress of his everyday life outside of work, he just couldn't take it anymore. This was it. He hatched a plan. Maybe it was dumb, but it was all he had. Pack all of his useful belongings into his car and leave. Just drive away from everything. No more problems, no more crazy fans, nothing to stress about. Just one other thing: He hadn't expected George to whisper "I'm in," through the phone after telling him his crazy plan. There's no destination. The joy comes from the memories made along the way.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 45
Kudos: 69





	1. Bad Decisions

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing a fanfiction here and I have no idea how this website works. But I see a disgusting lack of "pack all your stuff in a car, grab a friend, and drive off into the sunset never to be seen again" fanfics. Like literally I'm in quite a few fandoms and I've only seen two that are like this. I, however, love this trope so so very much. It's wild and free and adventurous. So I'm here to provide. I mean, c'mon, Dream's song even gives the perfect title for this thing. I mostly use real names for this because I can't take it seriously otherwise.

“I’m in.” George's voice came from Clay's phone speaker loud and clear, yet Clay could barely hear him over the beating of his own heart. He couldn’t believe it, his eyes scanned over his phone screen frantically, taking in every detail of this mess. His phone was open to Discord, where he sat on call with George. The little green light flickered with every accidental shuffling noise that was picked up on his mic. He tapped his fingers at the thought.

His brain was already having a hard time processing that he actually planned on doing this. His heart was soaring in anticipation in contrast to the weariness of his mind. This was stupid. 

He told George about his plan first. He thought- or maybe hoped- that George would talk him out of it. Tell him it was stupid. Tell him he had a job to do and he couldn’t just run off and abandon his friends and family.

The last thing he was expecting was to hear George say those words. Two simple words. Simple words whose meaning changes depending on context. In fact, he almost wanted to ask to make sure he had heard George right. To make sure those words meant the same to him as he had interpreted.

“You know what this means, right? I plan on being gone for a while. You’ll have to pack your bags, and I- I don’t even know where I’m going.” Clay spoke softly as he stared at his ceiling. White. A blank canvas above the bed he laid on. 

“I know.” George whispered. Clay almost thought George sounded unsure. Maybe if he pushed too hard, he would get scared and back out. He couldn’t tell if he wanted that. Now that George had offered, there was something appealing about the thought of having his best friend with him for the ride. It wouldn’t be so lonely. He had to be absolutely sure George knew what this meant, though. 

“That means going to, like, McDonald’s for breakfast every morning. Just restaurants and fast food. Motels.. or sleeping in the car. In the middle of absolutely nowhere.” Clay added. “I know.” George repeated. “It means peeing in gas stations or campground toilets when we’re on the road.” The teasing grin was audible in Clay's voice now. “Oh my God, Clay, how many times do I have to say this? I’m in. I wanna go with you.” George laughed, exasperated. The sound only made Clay's grin double in size. “You’re absolutely sure you wanna run away with me?”

“Sure,” George teased, “Always.” Clay couldn’t even begin to describe how his heart soared at the words. That ‘Always’ was surprisingly serious. And surprisingly comforting. It was as though Clay could feel his blood pumping. His heart was warm, and it spread. Truly, an adventure waiting to happen. And there was no one he would rather spend it with. 

Okay, maybe he wishes a few more of his friends could come with, but that would be more expensive... plus group outings were more of a fun, planned event. Like a vacation. Not whatever this is. Not a crazy plan to run away from everything with your best friend at the way-too-early hours of the morning.

“Pack your bags then, George. I’ll be over to get you in an hour.” Clay mindlessly picked at the loose threads on his blanket. “An hour? Clay, it’s the middle of the night.” George said. Clay knew he was tired. He could hear it in the rasping of his voice. Clay was tired, too. His eyes threatened to give up on him at any moment, but his body was alive with energy. He wouldn’t be able to sleep if he tried.

“If you wake up in the morning, that gives you time to regret it.” Clay whispered. There was a moment of silence. Hesitation. Clay held his breath, thinking maybe George had decided to rethink things. Yet, he sighed when he heard the creak of George's bed as he presumably sat up and moved to stand. “I’ll see you in an hour, Clay. You’d better not back out.” George said and Clay could hear a bag unzip. Clay smiled and sat up.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”  
\--------------------------------

Clay rushed around his house, grabbing everything he needed. Everything he deemed useful. Several pairs of clothes, some pillows and blankets, snacks like chips and candies, water. Heck, he even packed first aid supplies, a flashlight, and a few tools. He was either going to be prepared for this or he wasn’t going. 

An idea crossed his mind and he ran back to his kitchen to shove a half-eaten and sticky bag of marshmallows. Think of it as a camping trip. As a road trip. A vacation. Think of it as anything other than what it really was; terrifying. The only thing that kept him from second guessing himself was the fact that he wouldn’t be alone. 

By the time he had shoved everything into the trunk of his car, he was already running late. He rushed to grab Patches. He cursed every red light that got in his way. Destination: George's house. His only pit stop was to drop Patches off at his parents' house. Vacation. It’s a vacation. And if his parents thought to doubt his words… if they saw the very un-vacation-like garbage he’d packed in the back of his car, they didn’t mention it.

I’m late, he thought to himself as he turned a corner, driving down a familiar side road. I’m late, he thought as he passed the houses one by one, their bright colors almost seeming to mock him. I’m late, he thought as he pulled up to a light blue house, a figure already stood in the driveway with his arms crossed. 

“You’re late,” George huffed as he threw his luggage into the back seat of the car and hopped into the passenger seat. Even after having been living in America, he never got used to the steering wheel being on the other side and the road rules being the opposite. 

“I know.” Clay clenched the steering wheel until his knuckles were white. “What’s all the junk in the back for?” George asked. “Do we really need all that for a road trip?” Clay glanced over and hardened his gaze. This is serious. “I don’t know when I’m coming back.” He stared into George’s eyes. George hesitated a moment as he stared back. Then he nodded and glanced away. “Right. Right, makes sense. Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go.”

“Let’s go.” Clay grinned and hit the gas. It was tempting to push the pedal all the way back, but getting caught by the cops only three minutes into your life changing road trip probably wasn’t a good thing. So he forced himself to calm down. It helped when George turned on the radio. He switched through stations and grumbled about all the crappy pop-music on- he almost went into a rage when he tuned into a frequency playing country music. Finally, he settled, when he just connected his phone to the car’s Bluetooth and played songs from a playlist he made. 

By the time Clay rolled down the windows to let in the summer breeze, George had fallen asleep. The sun would be coming up soon. It would cast its brilliance onto the clouds above and shine intrusive rays right into the windshield. Clay didn’t mind. 

Because by the time George woke up, they weren’t in Florida anymore.


	2. Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> McDonald's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh. I wanna thank everyone who has left kudos and kind comments. It's really motivated me to keep writing the chapters fast. That said, I'm just gonna inform yall that straight up there is no update schedule. I'm just doing this for fun when I find the time. I'm gonna TRY to post at LEAST once a week but we'll see how things go. Please enjoy, I'm really nervous about my writing since this is the first fanfic I've ever posted here.

George yawned and stretched a bit. He grumbled when his hand hit the top of the car, to which he glanced around looking utterly disoriented. Clay glanced over at him, a fond smile on his face and a sparkle in his tired eyes. He didn’t dare get distracted and look away from the road for long, though.

“What time is it..?” George mumbled. Clay took one glance to the dashboard where George apparently couldn’t be bothered to check. “Eight o’ four AM.” Clay responded. “I knew that.” George huffed. “Sure you did.”

George sat upright and rubbed his achy muscles. Sleeping in the car was never an easy task. As for Clay, it looked as though he hadn’t slept at all. Which probably wasn’t healthy. Probably. George took a glance out of the window at the vast empty fields and long plots of crops and visibly paled. Which was impressive, considering his already pale complexion. “Uh.. Clay? Where are we?”

“Not in Florida.” He teased. “No, no, I mean.. where.” George asked. “I dunno, I kinda stopped paying attention after the ‘Now Leaving Florida’ sign. I just started taking roads that felt right. And now we’re here.” Clay shrugs. “What do you mean, you ‘dunno’? This is serious, Clay, we could be lost!” “Isn’t that the point?” Clay responded all too quickly. When he turned to face George, that was when he saw it. This was the moment George saw the excitement in Clay’s eyes. This was exactly what he was hoping. Fine. George trusted Clay. So if he wanted to get lost, they would get lost together. No questions asked, no backing out. 

“Here, you hungry? Look, there’s an exit sign up there, we can get breakfast at one of the restaurants there.” Clay offered. “If they even have restaurants there.” George mumbled, but looked at the sign anyway. “Burger King, Denny’s, McDonald’s..” He listed off helpfully as he read each of the logos. “Oh, we’re definitely going to McDonald’s for breakfast.” Clay interrupted and hastily switched lanes to get off the highway on this exit.

“Fine, but then would you take a nap? You look dead.” George huffed. “I do not. I look good.” Clay wiggled his eyebrows. “You’re gonna take a nap.” George commanded. “Oh come on, I got us this far.” Clay shook his head at George. He was silently begging to keep driving. He wouldn’t win this battle, though. Not with that look of cold determination in George’s eyes. “Okay, okay, fine. I’ll take a nap after I eat or something.”

George smiled at that. It relieved some of the dread from Clay’s heart. He’d do anything for those smiles. Clay began to pull into the drive-through area, but George stopped him by rapidly tapping his arm. “Wait wait wait, we should probably go in and use the bathroom.” He had a point, but Clay didn’t want to admit that he had straight up forgotten he existed for the past few hours of the drive and neglected all bodily functions. “Dude, make up your mind quicker!” He teased. “It’s not my fault you’re an idiot.” George crossed his arms as he spoke, making Clay gasp in fake-offense. 

He didn’t put up a fuss, though. He just pulled the car into one of the empty spots, squeezing between two cars that both decided to nearly double-park with how far over the line they were. The sound of the car door slamming felt like it woke him up despite already being awake. “If we aren’t in Florida anymore, why is it still so hot?” George complained and pulled his shirt away from his body as if to fan himself. “Becos it’s summah, Gogy.” Clay teased, imitating a terrible British accent. “Whatever.” George scoffed. 

The first thing they did when they entered the establishment was praise the air conditioning. Secondly, they used the bathroom and tried to make themselves look half-way presentable.

“Oh my God, Clay, you didn’t tell me my hair was a mess! I look like I just crawled out of, like, a grave or something.” George fussed as he struggled to flatten the bedhead he had acquired from his uncomfortable sleeping position in the car. “It doesn’t look bad to me.” Clay shrugged from where he washed his hands. George grumbled incoherently as he continued to try and fix his hair. 

“You could slick it back with this soap.” Clay teased and let the automatic dispensers drip more soap onto his hand. “Ew, no. Do you know how disgustingly sticky that would be?” George scoffed. “What, it’s just sticky. Do you have a problem with sticky?” Clay asked. “YES. Sticky things feel disgusting. And so does slimy.” 

“You can just wash it off? It’s no big deal.” Clay shrugs. “I just don’t wanna get dirty.” George huffs. To this, Clay raises his soapy hand and tenses as if he intends to throw the soap on George. He immediately lifts his arm over his face, trying to conjure up the most threatening expression ever. “Clay you had better not.” Clay only raises his hand higher in response. “You- I see you thinking it- you had better not. I swear if you throw that at me you had better pray to whatever God you believe in that you can run faster than I do.” George wasn’t exactly intimidating. Especially not in this context. But Clay listened and lowered his arm. To which George seemed to relax…

Until Clay smacked the lump of soap against George’s bare arm. He gasped and turned with the most rage-filled expression Clay had ever seen. It almost made him think he had legitimately messed up, but when George screeched out an offended and overly-dramatic “DUDE.”, Clay laughed and wheezed. He held his stomach as he doubled over, but they both stopped in their tracks when someone they hadn’t noticed left one of the stalls and approached the sink. 

George quickly washed the soap off of his arm and Clay dragged him out of the bathroom before he could even dry off. If he noticed their hands still intertwined in the line to order, he didn’t say anything. Clay didn’t mention it either. It was intentional, though. He wouldn’t admit he liked holding George’s hand. After all, if you bring attention to it, it makes it weird. And there’s nothing weird about two friends holding hands. Especially when it helped warm up their cold fingers that still hadn’t gotten warm after washing them. 

They whispered among themselves as they pointed to their options on the menu, trying to decide what looked best. They decided on both getting coffee. George got fries, Clay got one of those breakfast sandwiches George couldn’t be bothered to remember the name of. Their breakfast was peaceful at their seat in the corner by a window. George watched the cars pass and livestock wander around the faraway fields. He only turns back to Clay to playfully yell at him for stealing his fries.

It’s here, in this moment. George staring out the window with his head resting against his hand. George with his hair a mess, his gaze distant, and a fry hanging from his mouth. George with part of his shirt still wet from the water on his arm. It’s here, that Clay feels his chest warm up with a feeling of togetherness he didn’t even know he lacked. It was exciting, the thought of them so alone, yet not alone at all. There was nothing, because they were each other’s everything. Nothing to worry about, and nothing to fear.

And when George turned to face Clay with an awkward questioning smile as to why he had been staring so long, Clay only stole another fry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is completely unrelated but I was a Glass Animals fan before the Heatwaves fic. That's just a fact, fam.


	3. The Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Third wheels provide stability.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to slowly get used to writing more. I want to write longer chapters in less time, but that takes practice, so... Anyway thanks again for all the kind comments and kudos, they really make my day!

Clay didn’t remember leaving the McDonald’s. He didn’t remember stopping for gas. He didn’t remember finding an empty parking lot to park in. The only thing he remembered was waking up sore with his seat reclined all the way back. George was beside him, scrolling through his phone. He didn’t even look away from the screen when he spoke.

“I think we might’ve forgotten to tell the others about our little road trip.” George said as his fingers flew across his phone’s keyboard. “What makes you say that?” Clay stretched and sat up. George seemed to falter at the sound of Clay’s morning voice. “Maybe the thousands of DMs from the group asking why we haven’t responded to anything in so long.” George teased.

“Oh. Oh yeah, I guess I did forget.” Clay admits. “Did you tell them?” “Yeah. I said we’re fine and that we’re taking a sudden vacation. And that I don’t know where we are, but we’re not in Florida anymore.” Clay paused to take in everything George just told him. “How did they take it?” He sighs. “Good, mostly. I think everyone is just confused and worried. Sapnap seemed a bit upset that we didn’t tell him anything though. He wants us to swing by during our travels, if it’s not too much trouble.” George explains. Clay thinks a moment. “Maybe. I guess if we keep going this direction and.. get that far.” He smiles. “Wait, have you tweeted anything about it?” “No, not yet… why?” George asks.

“Good, cause… I don’t want anyone knowing.” Clay mumbled. An indescribable look crossed George’s face. It may or may not have been accompanied by a blush. “Okay, definitely doesn’t sound murder-y.” George laughed after a moment. “I don’t want anyone knowing,” Clay said again, this time trying to make his voice more threatening. It didn’t really work. He just sounded like a fifty-year old Quackity that smoked in middle school. It made George laugh more though, so it was worth it.

“Really though, I don’t want anyone to know we’re not in Florida. I don’t want anyone trying to look for us or trying to recognize you when we’re, I dunno, just trying to buy, like, gummy worms at the store or something.” Clay explained. “Gummy worms?” George raised his eyebrows. “Wow, all that and the only thing you got out of it was gummy worms.” Clay scoffed.

“Hey, you napped for like, five hours. I’m allowed to be hungry.” George raised his arms in defense. “Wait, really? That long?” Clay scrambled around to look out of the window. Sure enough, he wasn’t greeted by the early morning sun, it was afternoon now and the sun was high in the sky.

“Huh. Well. Do you wanna eat, or do you want a snack? I packed some stuff.” Clay asked. “It depends on what you brought.” George wastes no time in attempting to reach into the back seat without getting out. Clay narrowly dodged as George planted one knee against the center console, and shivered when George’s thigh brushed against his arm. “Dude, your butt is in my face.” He looked away as he felt his face warm. George quickly crawled into the back seat, not caring if he accidentally kicked Clay on the way back.

He made himself comfy, then dug through what he figured must be the snack bag. Maybe he saw the chip logo through the bag. “Anyone driving by just got the view of a lifetime.” Clay teased. “Shut up. Actually shut up.” George grumbled as he searched the bag. He was honestly making a mess. “Make sure to put everything back.” Clay warned, not wanting to have to clean up the back of his car.

He had already had a time packing everything in there. It was like tetris. Which bags and suitcases can stack on top of eachother without getting dumped out of the car when he opens the back? He adjusted his seat to be more upright, giving George more room to move around. After a moment, the sound of a chip bag opening was heard. “I guess I’ll just have a snack for now, but I definitely want more quality food later.” George huffed. “Ah yes, ‘quality food’. I’m sorry I couldn’t provide, princess. You’re so picky.” George retaliated by kicking the back of Clay’s seat.

“Watch it, or I’ll drop you off here and drive off!” Clay joked, but when George didn’t answer, he glanced into the rear-view mirror and frowned at George’s darkened expression. “Sorry, that wasn’t funny.” Clay mumbled timidly. 

After a moment, a hand came into his vision, an open chip bag in its grasp. A peace offering. “Dude, what? You took my favorite chips-“ “Crisps.” George interrupted him. Clay sat dumbfounded a moment, then took a few out of the bag. “Chips.” Clay insisted. “Crisps.” George argued. “Will calling them ‘chisps’ make you happy?” Clay teased. “No, not in the slightest. In fact, that’s worse. That’s actually dogwater.” George answered quickly, making Clay laugh at how ridiculously offended he sounded by the word. “Never say that again. Actually, never talk to me again.” George continued. Clay only wheezed harder.

“I think I’m gonna call Nick.” Clay said between giggles. “Any askers?” George replied. “Wow. Wow, I’m hurt.” Clay mumbled as he picked up his phone and scrolled through his contacts. He was purposely avoiding Discord. Something about the thought of seeing what everyone was saying while he was gone filled him with dread. It only rang once before it was picked up and “DREAM!” was yelled so loud that George could hear it despite the phone not being on speaker. It made him laugh as he munched away on chips.

“Hey, Nick.” Clay tried to sound confident. “Oh. Oh we’re doing that, are we?” Nick teased. “Yeah, uh… sorry, I just… George said you-“ “Hi, George!” Nick interrupted Clay, which caused him to huff. “Hiiii.” George called out from the back seat, between mouthfuls of chips.

“Uh, anyway.. I just wanted to call and check in since I forgot to yesterday.” Clay mumbled. “Alright, check in, then.” “Okay, maybe I will.” “Maybe you should.” “Alright then, how are you?” “Sad my two best friends went off on a road trip together and left me.” Clay paused after that. “We had McDonald’s.” George added unhelpfully, with even more unhelpful chip-crunching noises. “AND they had McDonald’s. Without me.” Nick groaned pitifully. What a drama queen. “Fine, fine, okay, we’ll drop by your place when we get closer to that area.” Clay said after a moment of silence. 

Despite sounding exasperated, all three of them knew he was happy. This was normal. The shred of normalcy Clay had been craving for a while now. “Just.. Don’t tell anyone, okay?” He pleaded. “What about-“ “You can tell the others, just make sure- make sure that the fact that we’re gone doesn’t spread among the fans. No one say it during stream, no one tweet about it, nothing.” “Okay, okay, I got it.. but what will you do when one of us needs you for like, stuff on the smp or something?” “It’ll have to wait.” “Won’t that be suspicious?” Clay sucked in a breath.

Nick was right. It was a bit suspicious, but… It wasn’t like there was a better option. He hadn’t planned that far ahead, honestly. “With BOTH of you gone- especially if you’re gone long…” Nick trailed off. George seemed to sense Clay’s growing stress and stopped crunching the chips. Instead, he leaned over the driver’s seat to be closer to the phone. Clay could barely hide his flinch at the sensation of George’s breath against his neck. 

He smelled strongly of chips now. “We’ll make up an excuse or something, it can’t be that hard.” He stated simply, as if this were the easiest thing in the world. “Fine, fine, sounds like a plan. Just be sure to let the rest of us know what y’all come up with.” Nick sighed into the phone. “Alright, I-“ “Wait-“ Clay interrupted, cursing under his breath as a horrible little red symbol flashed on his screen. Low battery. “I forgot to charge my phone, it’s gonna die. Look, I’ll call you again later, okay? Love you.” Clay spoke quickly, as if he had mere seconds to live. “Love you too~” Nick responded. And just like that, a beep echoed through the car as he hung up. 

George quickly discarded the empty bag of chips in the back seat and wiped his hands on his jeans before he gracefully crawled back into the front seat. “How do you say that so easily?” George asked. “What? ‘Love you’?” Clay grinned, a bit confused. George only timidly nodded. “Well.. I guess… it’s because I mean it. And I like to show my friends I appreciate them. See? Love you, George.” 

Clay could swear he saw pink spread across George’s cheeks for a moment before he avoided Clay’s gaze by glancing out the window. “Do you ever… get scared you’ll mean it too much?” He spoke softly. Clay didn’t know why, but that made his heart drop. He wasn’t sure if it was dread, or.. what. Maybe he just didn’t know how to answer such a complicated question. “..No?” He mumbled. You know, like a liar.

George didn’t respond. After a moment, Clay placed his hands back on the steering wheel. “Let’s find a hotel. After actually napping in the car, I don’t think I’d be able to do it again unless we have to. All of my bones hurt.” “It’s not so bad…” George whispered. Clay wasn’t even sure he heard him right, but George buckled his seatbelt, so Clay stepped on the gas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> But there was only one bed! Or was there? Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z. My brain is going to explode.


	4. Black-Eyed Susan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loneliness is but a dull ache in response to suddenly lacking something that was once there. When you get accustomed to something being around, then it disappears, it can be stressful. Sometimes you can mourn for lacking something you never had in the first place. When you look at someone, do you feel lonely? Do you see them standing in that field and think they're missing something, and that something is you? Do you stand beside them and still desire to be closer? Emotions are complicated sometimes, but it's best to figure them out before it's too late. Before things get messy. Clay doesn't know that, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey.
> 
> I honestly didn't realize how much free time I had during the day until I stopped wasting it. I never expected writing something like this would be so much fun, but writing about these two going out on adventures I wish I were helping has actually been so great. I love exploring, so coming up with diverse new environments is just,, *chef's kiss*.  
> Anyway, I present to you, soft boys.

They kept driving for a while, and by the time they stopped at a hotel that didn’t look infested with… something… the sun was setting. Perfect timing. Clay put the car into park and stretched. A few of his joints popped, but the sound was indistinguishable from the sound of George unbuckling his seatbelt. 

They both removed themselves from the car with a little bit of struggle, their legs sore from being cramped in the car all day. Clay glanced around to take in the sights around them. The sky was a beautiful mix of orange and yellow, fading into inky darkness above. It looked as though they were surrounded by a small, flat, pine forest. With the light fog coming in and distorting the neon light from the Hotel’s sign, it looked like the perfect place for a horror movie. To make things better, that very moment one of the letters on the Hotel’s sign blinked out. Great. At least the place looked clean.

\---------------------------

Scratch that. Clay had already paid a pretty penny for a room with two beds, but when he and George opened the door with their heavy suitcases behind them, they were met with.. a normal room. Technically. At first glance. But it smelled weird and the carpet felt sticky and the abstract wall art did NOT use color composition correctly. So it was bad. The hotel sucks.

George groaned and flopped onto one of the beds, not even bothering to try and sort out his suitcase. Clay stared at him. He was spread out like a starfish with his face completely engulfed in the covers and the seventy useless pillows- could he even breathe like that? George moved his arms to rest beneath his head like a pillow and turned to stare back at clay with sleepy brown eyes. Okay, maybe the hotel doesn’t suck.

“Is there anything on TV?” George asked. Possessed by George's question and wanting to provide for his every whim, Clay searched the drawers of the TV stand until he found the remote. He flipped through the channels. News, news, news but British, a movie channel you had to pay extra for, a Spanish novela, and cartoons. Not even the good cartoons, baby cartoons. The hotel sucks.

“Ughh.. There’s really nothing on?” George complained. “Cartoons aren’t THAT bad.. I mean, at least it’s background noise.” Clay tried to be optimistic. “They aren’t even the good cartoons.” George huffed. My thoughts exactly. “Check the channel guide.” He ordered.

Under George's spell again, Clay once more rummaged through the drawers until he found the thick paper that held all of the glorious channels. He cursed under his breath as the sharp edge of the paper poked him, but ultimately just took the paper and flopped onto the bed George had claimed, right beside him. He read through the channels listed, inputting the numbers to see what was on if a channel even remotely looked like it wouldn’t suck to watch. 

“Why are you on my beddd..?” George groaned. “To be next to you.” Clay answered simply, but didn’t take his eyes off the channel guide. George didn’t respond. Instead, he jokingly tried to push Clay off the bed. Of course it didn’t work. 

After a moment of silence and Clay not reacting to George's attempts to annoy him, George slowly moved closer until he was laying right against Clay, their sides touching. Clay smiled. The hotel doesn’t suck.

“Wait, do they provide a complimentary breakfast?” George asked. Clay paused. “This hotel sucks.” He huffed, only confirming George's unfortunate suspicions. George laughed in response, and Clay could feel it. He could feel it bounce throughout his body and the mattress of the bed. Maybe it does suck, but it doesn’t suck as much when I’m with you.

At some point, they had gotten tired of flipping through channels and prepared themselves to sleep. After getting cleaned up and brushing their teeth while hogging the sink, they snuggled into their respective beds and fell asleep.

That didn’t matter, though. What matter was that suddenly Clay was awake. That wasn’t the problem, oh no no no dear reader. The problem was Clay was trapped. Trapped under a cage of arms and legs.

George's arms and legs. How did he get here? Does it matter? The important question is: How is he going to get out? He’s been awake for nearly half an hour, too afraid to move and disturb his friend, but he needs to use the bathroom.

He slowly attempted to lift George’s arms off of him while moving away at the same time. What he didn’t account for was how close he already was to the edge of the bed. In a split second, he yelped as he felt the world rush past him. He was on the floor.

He blinked, trying to process what just happened, when George sleepily raised his head and stared down at him. “You’re on the floor.” George pointed out, quite obviously. “I am.” Clay replied, trying to figure out how to remove himself from being stuck between the bed and the wall. 

“I’m also stuck.” He added after a moment of realizing that he couldn’t free his arms, and in turn couldn’t sit up. George sighed and stood to help his friend. He took a glance at the bed he had been in before mysteriously appearing in Dream’s bed. Sus. Clay didn’t mention it, though. He didn’t want to embarrass him. 

He took Dream’s hand and pulled him up. It took a couple of tries, though. Maybe Clay was heavier than George was expecting. It must be all the muscles. “My hero~” Clay teased. “Yeah whatever.” George scoffed, and began heading towards the bathroom. Clay’s eyes widened and he pushed past George to get there first. He slammed the door and locked it, ignoring when George cried out, “DREAM.”

It took everything in his soul to not keel over laughing right then.

\-----------------------

After they had both gotten ready for the day, with George pretending to still be annoyed that Clay had stolen the bathroom, they packed up their stuff and made their way out of the hotel. 

Warm summer wind pushed against Clay, turning his hair into a dull golden halo around his head. He glanced back at the hotel, taking in its beige bricks and scuffed white trim. He took a final look at the neon sign above, how it desperately fought for attention against the light sky. Golden hour. When the lights flickered again, he didn’t find it so creepy. He considered it the hotel’s way of waving goodbye. Maybe it all wasn’t so bad. He took a deep breath, loving the sweet summer scent of flowers and adventure. 

“Hurry up.” George complained from where he stood at the back of the car, an old Ford he’d had for ages, trying desperately to shove his suitcase back into a place where it wouldn’t fall out immediately upon opening the door. Clay grinned. Yeah. It wasn’t so bad.

He made his way over and found a good spot for his suitcase, as well as helped George with his. Once their luggage was secure, They hopped in the car. “Do you think you should let me drive at some point?” George asked as he buckled himself in. “Maybe.. but not now. I’m not tired of driving yet.” Clay put the keys in and started the car, taking a moment to flick the little blob version of himself dangling from the keychain. “And knowing you, you’d get us lost.” He added. “Clay, we’re already lost.” “You’d get us lost-er.” “Isn’t that a good thing~?” Clay was suddenly aware of how close George had gotten. They stared at eachother. “Fine, you’ve charmed me with your pretty privilege. Next time we head out, you get the keys.” Clay shook his head with a smile as he gave in to George’s spell.

George silently celebrated his victory. With that, they sped off. They drove through the forest. It got thicker with every mile, pine trees completely blocking out their view. The grass was practically nonexistent under an impenetrable blanket of old pine needles. 

“There’s nothing to see around here but trees. Why is this road so boring?” George complained. “It’s not boring.” Clay scoffed. “What, do you want? You wanna play ‘I spy’ or something?” He teased. “I spy with my little eye a pine tree. A pine tree! Because that’s the only thing around here!” George sounded so personally offended it made Clay laugh. “Which one is it, Clay!? Which one am I looking at, huh!? Is it that one? Maybe that one! I swear to God if I don’t see something different I’m about to go feral!” George shouted, escalating the joke so that Clay would wheeze more. And he did. “Excuse me, I have to check the tea.” George teased. “Oh, come on now.” Clay shook his head. “Look, George, it hasn’t even been that long since we started driving. Just listen to the radio or something.” 

George pouted, but poked at the buttons on the dashboard until the radio came on. Static. Okay, kinda creepy and unnerving, but not unexpected. They probably just needed to change stations. George shuffled closer to mess with the buttons and search for a station that actually came in. It was all static. How on earth was it all static? Clay tried not to focus on the growing pit of dread in his chest.

It was hard to ignore when the car stuttered beneath them. A bounce, a pop, and then it slowed. Even when Clay tried to step on the gas in a panic, they only kept slowing. He gave up and turned the wheel so at least they would roll to a stop on the side of the road and maybe not get hit by any oncoming traffic.

“This.. probably isn’t good.” George mumbled as he took weary glances out of the windows. It may be light out, golden from being a mere half hour or so since sunrise, but there were still remnants of fog lingering in the air and giving the whole place an eerie feeling. It looked cold outside, despite it being the middle of summer. Clay could feel it when he stepped out of the car. The heat practically slapped him in the face. 

He opened up the hood of the car and took a peek inside. Did he know what he was doing? Not really? Was he gonna admit that to George? No way. Not a chance. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and took off his hoodie to tie around his waist, leaving his white tank top underneath. Yeah, this idiot was wearing a hoodie in summer. An official Dream hoodie despite not wanting to be recognized. Gotta admit, that wasn’t very 1000 IQ of him. 

“Any idea what’s wrong with it?” George asked, suddenly beside him. He jumped. “Uh.. no, not yet, I literally just started looking.” Clay admitted. “Well I hope you can figure something out on your own, because I just checked and we don’t have service out here.” George pointed to his phone, stuck on a horrid endless loading screen on discord. At the top, the tiny bars flashed with emptiness. 

Well. This really doesn’t look good. Clay felt the weight of the situation all fall on his shoulders. He was solely responsible for this. “Right.. okay… I’ll see what I can do.” He mumbled. George nodded and walked away.

Okay, no biggie. He can do this. He may not know a whole lot about cars, but he’s a smart guy. He just needed to figure out what was broken and why it suddenly decided to be broken. He inspected the different pieces of the car with care, trying not to accidentally touch or misplace anything. Easy. This is easy and simple. They were only stranded in the middle of nowhere with no service and nothing to work with, all alone with no one knowing where they were or where they were going. No one to call for help, and nothing around for miles. But hey, this is what he brought the tools for, right? Just in case something like this happened.

Clay moved to retrieve the tools from the back where he had packed them, but something caught his eye. He peeked into the passenger seat just to be sure. Surely his eyes were playing tricks on him. It couldn’t be. This couldn’t be happening.

Where was George…?

This is it. They’re living a horror movie- or, Clay is. He’s in a nightmare. He has to be. This can’t be where he dies. He glanced around frantically, looking for any sign of George or where he could have gone. After a moment, he spotted something moving in the woods. He was filled with hope… then dread. Then hope again as he recognized it as the familiar shape of his friend, somehow suddenly far into the woods and walking even farther into it.

“GEORGE!” Clay yelled out to him. “OVER HERE!” George yelled back and gave him no more than a glance before continuing to move deeper into the forest. Clay swore under his breath and locked his car before he hesitantly followed George into the foliage. Clay had no trouble hopping over logs and gracefully making his way forward while he watched George stumble over nearly every branch on the ground in front of him. He didn’t exactly appreciate the leaves slapping him and the gnats buzzing around his ears.

“Dude, where are you going?” Clay asked once he was close enough for George to hear him without yelling. “I swear I saw something.” “Isn’t that a bad thing? You don’t follow something weird you saw into the forest, George. You’d die first in the horror movie.” Clay teased nervously. “No no no, it wasn’t a something like an animal, it was a something like… I dunno, SOMETHING.” George mumbled. “We’re gonna get lost if we go too far from the road” Clay warned. “No no, look, we’re here.” George mumbled and stepped out of the treeline into the sunlight.

He looked like an angel. His skin was practically glowing in the sun, illuminating every perfect imperfection. His hair was slightly a mess from the breeze. His clothes were scrunched up in all the wrong placed. Clay decided right then that he loved it. It was a clearing, George stood in a thick field of flowers. All kinds of wildflowers swayed in the breeze around George’s calves. Most prominently black-eyed susans. Birds serenaded them, completely breaking the former eerie atmosphere. “See? I knew it would be great.” George grinned, a sparkle in his eyes. Clay wanted to melt. He stepped into the sun and took George’s hand as he guided him farther into the large field. They sat down, side by side in the flowers, legs crossed and staring into the nothingness. 

Clay mindlessly began picking a small bouquet. He handed it to George who played with the flowers, admiring them or throwing a few into the air to rain down on them or picking a petal or two. Clay smiled, and before he knew it, he was making a flower crown for George. He remembered making them with his sister before, and he desperately tried to remember the pattern. It came naturally, his instincts doing most of the work. Before George knew it, his head felt heavier with the weight of a flower crown gently being placed on him. He glanced at Clay, who was staring at him strangely. It looked like pure adoration. In fact, Clay’s heart clenched with an emotion he could describe. A desire to be close to George despite them already being right beside each other. “You look beautiful.” Clay said. He accidentally meant it too much. George didn’t mention it, though.

“Teach me how to make those.” He commanded quickly to try and hide the blush that was spreading across his features. Clay obeyed, picking a few flowers and began trying to show George the pattern. It took a few tries and quite a few minutes, but eventually George had a decent sized chain. He tied it off to make a circle and placed the finished product on top of Clay’s head. He laughed as it quickly slid crooked, leaving Clay to look like a beautiful grinning idiot. To George, Clay’s green eyes were a fascinating shade of gold. Perfect to go with the flower crown. His cheeks puffed out and his eyes crinkled with how large his smile was. They both stared at each other, taking in this perfect moment.

George slowly leaned against Clay, who leaned back in response. They sat like that for a while, just enjoying doing nothing together. And when they walked back to the car, they walked back hand-in-hand.

Just when Clay began to worry about the car again, a dude in a huge truck pulled over. Surprisingly, he didn’t want to kill them either. George retreated to the car while the truck driver inspected the car and helped Clay fix the issue. He recommended to get it checked in a shop as soon as possible anyway, but assured them they should be good to go. And with an appreciative handshake, George and Clay were back on the road. Noon. 

“We should tell Sapnap about getting stranded in the murder forest.” George teases. “Only if we tell him about the flower crowns, too.” Clay teased back. George rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” Clay laughed at George’s simple response.

“Hey, Clay…?” George asked, trying to get his attention. Clay hummed in response. “I had fun.” George admits. Clay actually glanced over at those words. He stared right into George’s eyes a moment, then smiled.

“Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I really enjoy writing horror and building tension. I dunno if that was obvious before but now I'm sure it is because I was just itching to make something go horribly wrong. I wouldn't do you guys like that, though, I love yall too much.


	5. Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They say love is blind, but sometimes it's deaf, too. Sometimes it's being deaf to the own change in your heartbeat when you're near them. It's being deaf to the noise you hear and the sounds you like. Not caring if their song is off tune, but paying attention to the way their pitch rises when they talk to you. Hearing every shakey breath, but not the rain around you. Can you feel your heart pounding, George?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lost in body and in spirit. In mind and in the most abstract concept. I honestly didn't know if I would be able to get this chapter done before the end of the day, but here I am. Hope you guys like it. I'm feeling a bit more refreshed, like I'm remembering my usual writing style. It HAS been a while since I've written anything outside of roleplay. Either way, I'm kind of proud of this one. 
> 
> Anyway, Sweater Weather (Slowed, 8D + Rain), anyone?

The room was cold and quiet. Well, it wasn’t completely quiet. The TV was on low volume and occasionally someone would cough or a child would put up a fuss. Maybe someone would talk a bit too loudly into their cellphone. 

The whole building smelled like chemicals, but George and Clay leaned back as far as the uncomfortable seats would allow them. Sipping coffee in the middle of the day and stealing way too many donuts from the snack area. They shared a set of airpods, listening to whatever was on Clay's phone.

They had taken the truck driver's advice and after a quick, highly over exaggerated call to Sapnap explaining what had happened, they stopped into the nearest mechanic place. They’d been waiting for an hour already.

At least it had food and wifi. George was looking at his phone, talking to friends on discord and scrolling through Twitter. Meanwhile, Clay was doing his best to avoid all of it.

He didn’t want to see what everyone was saying. Especially not Twitter. He only used his phone for music, directions, or calling Sapnap at this point.

It was unfortunately another hour before they left the mechanics. So when they hopped in the car, they didn’t hesitate to continue on their journey. Being away from the car had left them antsy, as if they had been temporarily evicted from their home. 

Home. Clay's dumb old car was becoming their home. In less than forty-eight hours they had made enough memories and had gone through enough adventures to last a lifetime. And they were nowhere near done yet.

“I’m starving.” George whined. “We should probably pick up something to eat before we leave town. I don’t know how far it will be until we reach civilization again.” Clay reached for his phone to look up nearby establishments. 

He was true to his word and had tossed George the keys in order to drive. It took a comical amount of adjusting before George could comfortably be seated and reach the wheel and pedals. Clay felt awkward in the passenger seat of his own car. Like it was a violation somehow. Or like being naked.

Okay, probably not like being naked. That would be extreme. But still, you get the point. It was WEIRD. Alright? Alright. But Clay endured. “It looks like there’s a Wendy's and a Dennys nearby.” He mumbled.

They shared a long, dramatic glance. “Anything but Wendy’s.” George said. “Anything but Wendy’s.” Clay agreed.

So they parked in the Dennys parking lot and went inside. Ah, the distinct smell of ethically dubious diners. Clay shuffled awkwardly at the feeling of his sneakers sticking to the floor. Of course, they weren’t good sneakers. He didn’t really care if he wore nice shoes. George, on the other hand, always wore nice shoes. He cringed as he glanced down, wondering what kind of substance could be infecting their footwear.

He was surprised to see George’s white shoes had already been stained with dirt from the meadow. Seriously? How had Clay not noticed until now? Had George really not said anything about his beloved shoes getting dirty? Had he even noticed? Surely he had, they were his SHOES. 

Yet when movement caught Clay's eye and he glanced up, George was smiling at him timidly. Had he any idea what he was doing to him? How dare he be so oblivious to his own perfections. Maybe somehow Clay could figure out how to express it to him. His appreciation. How perfect he was. Maybe he would make a list. That wouldn’t be weird, would it? To state every little thing you love about your best friend? Surely not. Platonic love exists. And it was fun to fluster George anyway.

They found a table and ordered their food, only to sit in the most uncomfortable silence they had experienced thus far. Well, technically it wasn’t uncomfortable, Clay only thought of it as such as it was the longest span of time they had spent together in silence. 

Was it truly silence? The low chatter of other customers and clinking of silverware filled the room. If sound were a physical object, there would be no room for people in here. It was almost claustrophobic. But in a comforting way.

Like, you can’t move because of how little space you have, but it feels like blankets. It feels like being safe. It was warmer in here than in the mechanics, but it was still a tiny bit too cold for comfort. At least the place smelled like food. Despite taking so many donuts, they were still hungry.

“So,” George started, only to pause as he tried to clean himself up from his meal, “Where are we staying next?” He asked. Clay wiped his hand on his pants and pulled out his phone. “It’s still early, I think we can make it to the next town before it gets late.” He responded as he stared at the bright numbers on screen. 

“Do I get to drive again?” George asked, and when Clay turned back to face him, he was met with puppy-dog-eyes. Irresistible puppy-dog-eyes. Curses. “Ffffffine. The things I do for you.” Clay sighed and shook his head as George grinned at his success.

\---------------------

“We’re lost.” Clay huffed. “No we aren’t” George responded calmly from his place in the driver’s seat. “We totally are!” Clay slapped the dashboard, causing the roadmap on top to slide down and flutter onto his lap.

They had been driving for more than a few hours now, and the sun was setting. It didn’t help that clouds were rolling in by the minute. Clay hadn’t expected rain, but at this point he would be surprised if it didn’t. 

“You got us lost.” Clay pouted and crossed his arms. He wouldn’t even look at George now. After all, it was George’s idea to take a side road out of traffic. At the time Clay agreed, since it looked like the road would lead back to the main one. Yet turn after turn, they never made it back. Even when they tried to backtrack, they only got more and more disoriented. Clay’s phone lost signal again, too. Great. Completely lost.

“It wasn’t my fault.” George was quite obviously getting frustrated now. Clay took a deep breath. They both need to calm down. They’re just tired and stressed. “Okay, okay, okay. We just need to keep driving until we get a signal.” He spoke slowly and softly, which seemed to calm George a bit. “It’s getting dark. We could get more lost- or hit an animal.” George mumbled, still a bit anxious. “Okay… we drive around until the sun goes down, and then we pull over and-“ “Wait! I see something!” George interrupted and pointed to a brown sign on the side of the road.

As they passed, Clay squinted and tried to read the contents. “It’s a campground..!” He practically shouts with glee. “We can rest there for the night!” Clay suggested. George complied. He didn’t even hesitate to turn into the driveway behind the sign. It was a narrow old road, but it soon widened out into a parking lot. There was a building with bathrooms, and places for people to hook up camper trailers. For being Summer, there were only a few tents set up. 

George parked in one of the empty spaces near the bathrooms, just in case. “Woah, I would’ve had no idea that this place were here if it weren’t for the sign.” George marveled. “It’s so secluded.” He added. “It’s nice.” Clay mumbled. He unbuckled his seatbelt and hopped out of the car to stretch. That and to easily grab the pillows from the back. He had prepared for this, and honestly it only strengthened his pride. George watched him with curiosity as he adjusted the seats, blankets, and pillows until they had a comfortable nest.

Just as Clay was about to hop back into the car, a few raindrops splattered across the windshield and his skin. “It’s raining!” George shouted and scurried out of the car. Before Clay could object, he was being pulled to the center of the parking lot by his wrist. He let out an exaggerated groan to make George laugh. 

The sun was pretty much entirely gone now. Everything was blue. That perfect twilight that washes everything in somber peace. They sky is blue, the concrete is blue, the rain is blue. Look, it’s your favorite color, George. Clay felt his heart soften. Maybe it’s his favorite color, too. Maybe George made it his favorite color.

George opened his mouth to try and catch the raindrops. “Fish pee in that.” Clay added ‘helpfully’. George punched him in the arm. He deserved that. “We’re gonna get all soggy and make the car wet.” “I don’t care, we’ve been driving so long and it’s been so hot out.” George whined. Clay only sighed in response. 

He gave a quick, weary look around. No one was outside. No one was watching. He freed himself from George’s grasp, who turned to pout, but was met with an amazing sight. Clay had stepped back to bow down slightly, an arm behind his back and one outstretched towards George. A mischievous grin stretched across Clay’s face, which made George shiver.

“May I have this dance~?” He asked quietly. George’s cheeks instantly heated up, which was fair because Clay was quite embarrassed as well. “Maybe, if you impress me.” George took Clay’s hand. “Do you actually know how to dance?” Clay asked. “No. I don’t even know why I’m doing this.”

Clay scoffed, but smiled. “I’ll teach you. We can do something simple. Like this, I’m gonna step forward with this foot, and you step back with that one.” Clay instructed as he turned his attention to their feet. George did the same. After they successfully moved one step, Clay continued. “Good. Now we’re both going to go this way. Then I’ll step back, and you step forward-“ Clay’s train of thought was interrupted by a shriek as George tripped over his own feet and crashed into Clay’s chest. “I got you- look, you’re doing great.” Clay reassured him as George regained his balance. Clay couldn’t hear how quickly his heart was beating. Maybe it was the rain. He couldn’t feel how everywhere his skin touched George’s, it was like fire. Maybe it was the rain. He couldn’t see how perfect this was, with both of their hair plastered to their faces. It couldn’t be the rain. “Then we step this way, and repeat.” He continued.

They moved in that pattern for a bit. It was a tad shakey at first as George got used to the movements, but once he had memorized them they were completely in sync. When George finally stopped looking at their feet and met Clay’s eyes, the world stopped turning. He blinked.

“…I’m gonna spin you~” Clay whispered. “Clay, do NOT spin me. You had better- don’t you dare.” George complained as Clay readjusted the positioning of their hands. “Please. Please don’t spin me, I’m begging you-“ George begged, but to no avail. His sentence was cut off with a shriek as Clay spun him, but it turned into giggled. Clay laughed as he pulled George back in. When their bodies met again, however, they didn’t move. 

They were pressed together, completely still. George stared up at Clay as his giggles died down, but Clay’s expression was unreadable. He stared down with a strange intensity.

George was so close. So, so close. They were here together in this perfect moment. Clay could practically smell his breath. He didn’t dare let go, in fear that if he did George would disappear and it would only be him on this journey. He leaned in and pressed their foreheads together. His eyes were closed. He didn’t want to see George’s reaction. Or maybe he did. Everything about this trip was so new to him. It filled him with curiosity. What if they took that exit? What if he had invited more people to go with him? What if he had told? What if, right here in this moment, he leaned a bit closer? His heart skipped a beat, and he finally heard it. 

Friends shouldn’t think like that.

Clay took a deep breath and backed away. When he opened his eyes, George was staring back him, confused and flustered.

He shouldn’t think like that.

Clay didn’t linger on any of his thoughts. The moment he realized what was happening, he banished them. He was trying not to think at all. There’s only what he’s comprehending in the moment. Only the sound of rain and the smell of pine. Only their hands still linked together. “C’mon, let’s get in the car and dry off before we get sick.” He smiled, as if he hadn’t just done what he did. George was too dazed to disobey, only mildly aware of himself being dragged back to the car. 

They grabbed sweaters from their suitcases and hopped in the car to put them on. After drying off a minute, it seemed as though George was calling it an early night. Not that there was much else to do anyway. They said their ‘goodnight’s and laid back. It was peaceful and quiet aside from the sound of raindrops hitting the car. Yet even when George’s rhythmic breathing and light snores joined the mix of ambience, Clay couldn’t sleep. He laid on his back with his arms behind his head, staring aimlessly at the roof of the car and watching raindrops slide down the window in the corner of his vision.

He couldn’t sleep, because one thought kept rolling around in his head despite his best efforts to forbid it.

…What if George had wanted him to?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Denny's and free donuts. In the next chapter they find bigfoot 100% no joke yep definitely.


	6. Waterfalls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone says to take chances. Life is a risk, and if you're presented with an opportunity, grab it and never let go. What if you can't? What if you just can't afford to take that chance? Because if you take that leap of faith and reach for the opportunity, you could miss. You could fall. You could plummet. And that thing you want so bad could slip from your grasp, never to be seen again. You still want to reach. You make nervous, subtle hints at what you want, full of hope.. and yet it's still impossible to tell if it's gonna happen. If you can make it happen. It's worse when that thing you want is actually a person. You're too scared you'll scare them off, so instead of grasping you settle for a gentle touch. A subtle whisper. Your goal is unreachable and you're falling. No, you can't take that chance. Especially not now. You have to   
> t e s t t h e w a t e r.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uhhh... I'm not out of planned scenes yet, but if you have suggestions feel free to leave them in the comments. Don't get sad if I don't incorporate them into the story it's nothing personal, it's all according to whether I have the time or if it fits with the basic outline of what I want to happen. Fun fact: I actually used to travel a lot, so when I describe the places they've been, I always have a place I've been in mind.

Clay was falling. No, not falling, just moving. It’s an earthquake. An earthquake that gets stronger and stronger by the second. Hazy. His ears were filled with sound. Sound that slowly turned into syllables. Syllables into words. 

He suddenly sat up straight as George shook him awake. “What? What? I’m up..” He mumbled. It felt as though he had been hit by a truck. He hadn’t got much sleep at all. Why was that again..? 

“Good morning~” George cooed beside him. Oh right… That’s a problem for another day. He couldn’t even be sure it was real, anyway. But he could convince himself it was true. Therefore the solution is to stop thinking about it! Immediately! Right now. He gave a lopsided grin. “Morning.”

“Didn’t sleep well?” “’S it that obvious..?” Clay grumbled as he stretched. George laughed and nodded. “I know you well enough to tell. I can practically read you like a book!” George teased. Or so you think, Clay thought to himself. He didn’t dare say it. If George could actually read him like he said he could, thinks would get quite complicated for him right about now. “You aren’t too tired to see the surprise, are you~?” George asked.

“What surprise..?” Clay yawned and attempted to use the rear-view mirror to fix his hair. “I found something. You’re gonna love it.” George grinned. Clay couldn’t help but believe him. 

George practically dragged Clay out of the car and over towards another brown sign near the bathroom. It was a little map of the area, showing where the campground and bathrooms were, but that’s not all.. “There’s a trail,” George pointed towards a little squiggly line. An ant crawled towards his finger. “And at the end of it…” George slowly guided his finger over to the words written right above the line. 

“Waterfall trail..?” Clay blinked slowly as he read the words out loud. George nodded vigorously. “We HAVE to go see it before we leave, pleeeeaaaase!” 

Clay did want to see the waterfall.. especially if it meant making more fun memories with George. He sighed. “I can’t say no to you..” He mumbled. “YES!” “It says the trail is two miles, though. That’s gonna take a while. You sure you’re gonna be able to do it? I’m pretty sure this roadtrip is the first time you’ve left your house in months~” Clay teased. George huffed. “I’ll be fine, thank you very much.”

“If you get tired, I can just carry you~” Clay nudged him. “Can you even pick me up?” “Wanna find out?” George's eyes widened, and Clay laughed in response. 

“Come on, if we stand around here all day, we’ll never get to the waterfall.” Clay commanded. George took one more look at the map and nodded. He guided Clay towards the right path, and they entered.

It wasn’t very well maintained. The path itself was just dirt that had been stomped down by the many other hikers before them. At least where there was a steep incline, natural rock steps were placed. George was complaining about poison ivy or snakes or ticks despite it being his idea to go down the path in the first place. Clay didn’t mind, though.

By the time they were halfway through the trail, they were both exhausted and their shoes were muddy from stepping in puddles left by the rain. A few clouds still drifted across the sky as if to mock them. Or so Clay thought. Maybe the clouds weren’t mocking George, but they were definitely mocking Clay. How dare that one to the left have the audacity to be shaped like a heart. 

“We’re almost there..!” George said, out of breath. “You said that thirty minutes ago.” Clay wheezed. You’d be surprised how winded you can get from just walking at a casual pace. “yeah, but now we’re REALLY almost there.” George promised. Somehow, Clay didn’t entirely believe him. He just stared at the ground where some bugs were crawling and leaned his hand against a tree that had been shredded to bits by how many people had carved their name into its bark.

“We’re almost there.” George said again and began to walk away. “You know it gets less convincing each time you say it.” Clay mumbled as he followed. 

Birds chirped throughout the woods, but it strangely echoed in the valley. Despite it being summer, a thick layer of dead leaves still coated the area around the path. George was probably right. If they stepped too far away into the shrubbery, it was practically a snake's heaven. They should be careful.

Clay would stay close to George. Y’know, just to be safe. They weren’t expecting it when they finally stepped into a bit of a clearing, the path had widened into a bit of a pebbly beach almost. And beyond that beach, running water. The sound echoed off the bluffs around it, letting all know of the grand and magnificent waterfall just above. 

They both stopped dead in their tracks, I awe of the beauty of the area. Water cascaded down a small rocky cliff and poured into a river that carved through big rocks and tree trunks. There was a small indentation in the cliff creating a small cave-like structure that housed a pool of water.

A pool of water.. perfect for swimming. Clay ran towards the water without another thought, deaf to George’s confused cries. He pulled his shirt off and threw it to the side, just before he jumped in.

“Clay!” George shouted, but it was lost to the water. After a moment passed and Clay still had not surfaced, George rushed over to the side of the water to peek in. He couldn’t see anything, though. The source of the water was likely a spring, and thus it was a vivid opaque green.

He frantically began to take off his shirt as well, but just as he was about to dive in, Clay's head popped out of the water with his golden hair stained dark and plastered to his forehead. He took a gasp of fresh air and shook out the water sticking to him. “CLAY, don’t you EVER do that again!” George waded into the water until he could grab Clay by the shoulders and shake him. “The water is… a lot deeper than I expected.” Clay admitted, a dumb dazed look on his face.

George laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. He was relieved, too. “You could have drowned!” George said, still trying to comprehend what just happened. “I could’ve!” Clay agreed.

A mischievous grin crossed his features. “Now it’s your turn.” He splashed George before he had a chance to react. “CLAY!” George gasped and sputtered. He sent a wave back. “You’re SO dead! You’re ACTUALLY so dead right now!” He tried to menacingly make his way over to where dream had retreated, but it’s a tad hard to swim menacingly. You’d be surprised.

Clay laughed as he splashed more water, and when George got close he tried to kick him away. This worked the first few times, but George quickly learned and grabbed his foot to drag him closer. Clay struggled to free himself, but ended up slapping some water directly into George’s face, who shrieked in protest. 

He tried to retaliate by pushing Clay under the water, but he held on and George was dragged down with him. They were both submerged. And again, so close. It was hard to contain their giggles underwater, but they knew better than to let their guard slip. They resurfaced, and Clay sped off again, this time towards the shore and seeming to have the idea of hiding behind one of the huge rocks. George shook his head, but the game was still on. He wouldn’t let him get away that easily. 

Clay was in waist-deep water now, hiding behind a corner of the rock. One thing was on his mind. Ambush. George was too smart for that, though, and he knew it. So when George rounded the corner intending to sneak up Clay, he pounced and turned the tables. They slapped at eachother and struggled to restrain awkward limbs and stay upright in the disorienting gravity of the water. 

Their quarrel was only quelled when Clay managed to pin George against the rock behind them. Always use your surroundings to your advantage. Everything seemed to halt again. It was like the world was holding it’s breath. Holding its breath like people reading a good fanfiction. No birds or water could drown out the sounds of their own hearts. Or maybe it could, the water was quite loud and these two were both idiots.

Clay took this opportunity to lean closer to George and stare him right in the eyes. George's eyes widened when he heard Clay whisper,

“…Boxed like a fish.”

Clay cackled and wheezed as he released George. It was unclear whether George was red with embarrassment or pure rage at this point. Clay didn’t care, the look on his face was priceless. He didn’t even care when he lost his balance and fell backwards into the water with a less-than-graceful ‘PLOP-SploOsH’. He only floated to the surface to continue laughing. 

“I swear I’m going to-" George's threat was cut off as noises came from the trail. People. More people. They probably should have expected that, yet they were both completely unprepared. They made a mad dash to retrieve their shirts and whatever else they left by the shore and ran back through the woods, probably scaring the pants off of anyone on the trail who heard them attempting to take a shortcut in the trees to avoid being seen. 

Once they had gone far enough from the noise, they circled back to the trail to continue back to the car. There was really no reason for them to run from the other hikers, as this place was known for people to swim in it… yet it gave them both a thrill. One thing they could definitely both agree on was that… they had it EASY earlier. Walking in wet clothes was a million times more uncomfortable.

Clay stepped into the bathroom proudly, positively soaked and still dripping water. Despite the long walk, they hadn’t dried. Only their hair had recovered. If you can call it that. The river water had ruined any chance they had at getting their hair to cooperate with their attempts to make it look nice. Alas it was futile. George looked up from his place at the sink and made a sour face at Clay. George had already changed his clothes, so why was Clay still in his? 

“You look refreshed.” Clay said. George scoffed. “You don’t. Why aren’t you changed yet?” He asked. “It took a while to go through my stuff.” Clay pouted and made his way over to a stall. It was then George noticed the bundle of clothes under Clay's arm. The sweet haven of dry fabric was already getting soiled by the contact with his wet shirt where he held it against himself. He entered the stall and hung the dry clothes over the closed door. George watched from the mirror, but only for a moment.

Once George was satisfied with how he looked, he stepped back outside of the restroom and stretched, taking in the fresh air. Thanks to the rain yesterday, the air wasn’t as unbearable and suffocatingly hot as it had been some days. He hopped into the car and dug around for more snacks to eat for breakfast. After all, if they were lost they might not find a good place to get actual food for a while. He grabbed a snack for Clay, too. Just to be nice. 

After a few minutes, George watched from the passenger seat window as Clay exited the campground bathrooms as well. He quickly ran a hand through his hair and shook it out, leaving it to take shape as its former messy glory. He glanced both ways, then hurried over to the car to jump in and throw his clothes in the back. George practically shoved his hand in Clay’s face to offer what he’d grabbed. “Huh—oh, thank you.” Clay took the food offered and smiled.

They ate in silence for a few moments, and once they were done, Clay was back on the road and back at the wheel. George was mindlessly watching the trees zoom past with his phone on his lap. He was trying to watch the bars in the top right to see if they passed any areas where they could even slightly get signal. Clay’s voice cut through the silence like a knife. “Uh.. y’know… I don’t actually blame you for yesterday…. If you wanted to drive again, you could.” He mumbled awkwardly. Seriously? Clay was still thinking about that? Truthfully George was already over it, but the fact that Clay was still worried was somewhat endearing.. and kind of cute. “It’s fine, maybe later.” George shrugged, Clay looked as if he wanted to say something else, but decided against it.

It was George’s turn to save Clay from his mind. “Once we find a town, we should go to the laundromat. We’re running out of clean clothes.” He spoke softly. Clay’s shoulders immediately untensed, and George noticed. He was grateful for the change of subject. “Yeah. Yeah sounds good.” He agreed.

It was a few more minutes before George nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of a ping from his phone. Clay hit the brakes immediately and through his arm in front of George to keep him from flying forward too far. “SIGNAL! GEORGE GET THE MAP, QUICK!” Clay ordered. George hastily fumbled around with his phone, trying to open the maps and see where they were. Once he found the nearest town, he set a course for it and they were on their way. “Don’t stop in the middle of the road like that!” George scolded Clay. “You can’t tell me what to do!” Clay argued and stuck out his tongue. They were both happy, though. They found a way out of this cursed place.

After way too many trees, a few old houses and trailers, another campground, and a huge bridge over a river, they were back on the highway with a city on the horizon. Signal was plentiful. They were saved. 

George searched up for laundromats in the area, and with their destination set, they were on their way. The traffic, however, was terrible. At least the radio worked again, and they could sing off-key songs to pass the time. They made fun of the radio advertisements, as it sounded like there were only a few voice actors able to advertise the local businesses and they all sounded.. very much like they were acting. 

After answering a worried text from Sapnap as to why George hadn’t responded to anyone for so long, they were still in traffic. I told you traffic was bad. Especially here. In summer. Like, you can sit still for twenty minutes and when you’re finally able to move you can only go one car-length before you have to stop again. At least it’s perfect for window shopping. They pointed at different shops they could go to and laughed at some of the tackier tourist souvenirs. 

It may have taken an hour to get to where they wanted to be, but they were still in good spirits. With the city packed with buildings, they were honestly surprised they even spotted the tiny building nestled between bigger stores. It was retro, with an ugly pastel orange paint job and a yellowing sign depicting its purpose in the worst font ever. Through the big windows, they could see rows upon rows of washing machines, and a few people inside, sitting on the benches or dumping their laundry into the machines. 

So among the chaos of the city, he pulled into the lot and put his car in park.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poggers poggers poggers poggers waterfalls coming out of your mouth poggers poggers I actually got too distracted by writing poggers and forgot what I was going to put here so poggers poggers poggers

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know if you like this I guess. I've never written fanfics before.


End file.
